The Last Star

The 5th Wave #3

by Rick Yancey

The enemy is Other. The enemy is us.

They’re down here, they’re up there, they’re nowhere. They want the Earth, they want us to have it. They came to wipe us out, they came to save us.

But beneath these riddles lies one truth: Cassie has been betrayed. So has Ringer. Zombie. Nugget. And all 7.5 billion people who used to live on our planet. Betrayed first by the Others, and now by ourselves.

In these last days, Earth’s remaining survivors will need to decide what’s more important: saving themselves…or saving what makes us human.

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Fiction, Aliens, Fantasy, Romance

338 pages, Hardcover

First published May 24, 2016

About the author

aka Richard Yancey.

Rick is a native Floridian and a graduate of Roosevelt University in Chicago. He earned a B.A. in English which he put to use as a field officer for the Internal Revenue Service. Inspired and encouraged by his wife, he decided his degree might also be useful in writing books and in 2004 he began writing full-time.

Since then he has launched two critically acclaimed series: The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, for young readers, and The Highly Effective Detective, for adults. Both books are set in Knoxville, Tennessee, where Rick lived for ten years before returning to Florida.

Reviews

[Emily May · Rating 2 out of 5]

His eyes drank me in. Oh, the Evanness of it all, how he gulps down my presence like a guy stumbling upon an oasis in the desert.

What happened to this series?

I was one of The 5th Wave's biggest fans, singing its praises to everyone who would listen. The Infinite Sea wasn't as strong for me, but that too was an enjoyable experience because I just clicked so much with Yancey's writing. This conclusion was a struggle to finish.

As much as I loved the first book, I'm not going to pretend this series is something it isn't. An alien takeover story is not exactly original, Cassie Sullivan is not Katniss Everdeen, and there are some plot decisions that don't quite add up. But, that being said, I think The 5th Wave was so good for one big reason: atmosphere.

I didn't even realize the importance of atmosphere until I read that book. Yancey enthused every page with a deep level of distrust. It was eerie, compelling and it forced you to look over your own shoulder. It was this, more than anything else, that pulled me so deeply inside the book.

Here, that whole atmosphere just... disappears. Completely stops existing. That creeping, beautiful style of storytelling has been replaced with gems like this:

There’s been a shitload of huh? moments since the Others came, but this one has gotta be the huh-est of them all.

I've also seen lots of people talking about the ending, which is partly why I kept forcing myself through. However, though dramatic, it's really easy to predict. Arguably, it's the only thing that could have happened to avoid a forced ending where everyone holds hands and walks off into the sunset. I doubt anyone who's read a few other popular YA series will be surprised.

But the worst thing about this book is the thing that's been niggling at the back of my mind throughout the entire trilogy - Cassie and Evan. They are so annoying. SO ANNOYING. Though where it was once masked by that writing and atmosphere I talked about, here it becomes reminiscent of New Adult romance novels:

My hands roamed his body, an undiscovered country, which henceforth I shall call Evanland. Hills and valleys, desert plains and forest glens, the landscape pockmarked with the scars of battle, criss-crossed by fault lines and unexpected vistas. And I am Cassie the Conquistador: The more territory I conquer, the more I want.
***
My face is hot. I’m thinking of the night I landed on the shores of Evanland and planted my flag upon that sculpted beach.

If you're a bit confused what the hell is happening - yes, they are having sex. Did anyone actually read this book through and hear how that sounded before sending it to print?

Between Cassie's disdain for the overtly sexual Grace and her constant descriptions of Evan's sexy arms and eyes - Tears welled in his eyes. It was like watching chocolate melt - she was insufferable.

The saddest thing is that I really did love the first book, and even the second wasn't bad. It's not the kind of series where you can just read one book and be satisfied either - lots of questions are left unanswered. And honestly, viewing the series as a whole, I don't know that it's worth it.

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[NickReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm gonna curl up into fetal position and weep.

[Nina · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Last Star was one of my most anticipated releases of 2016. No one is more saddened than me that 1) this book was a disappointment, and 2) I can’t even lie to myself about how disappointing it was. Hence, the 2.5 stars. Ben Parish was my silver lining, as the Par(r)ishs always are.

Life is a circle bound by fear. The fear of the predator. The fear of the prey. Without fear, life would not exist.

This is a very detailed review, so beware of minor spoilers. All the major ones are tagged as such.

The characters: ☆☆☆

☛ Cassie
Never in my life have I picked up a final instalment only to realize that the main character sounded 100% different than in the previous books. What happened to one of my favourite sarcastic, kick-ass heroines in YA literature? I was completely baffled, still am. Granted, we waited over 18 months for this book. A lot can happen in 18 months. I’m not the same person I was when I read the previous books, but this was a major case of OOC, people. Cassie’s mind was not a nice place to be for a reader. Her endless thoughts were dull, repetitive, without any substance, aaand a little bonkers (see her quote about flags). The sass was limited to a few cranky remarks. This was not the Cassie I remembered, the Cassie who infiltrated an alien fortress to rescue her little brother. This was garbage (see The Romance for reference).

There are times I hate my own brain.

You and me both, girl.

For a majority of the book, her thoughts circled endlessly around Evan, and Evan, and Evan, and maybe aliens, but mostly Evan. But somewhere towards the climax, there was this one paragraph where I finally wanted to clap her on the shoulder.

My place is with Sam; it’s always been with Sam. Sam is my raison d’être. Not some delusional Ohio farm boy crazy all the way down to the bottom of his bones.

I’m a family person through and through, and I would always choose my baby brother over a crush I met a few weeks ago. Teenage romance is this beautiful but short-lived adventure whereas family is a rock-solid fortress. So, for once in this book, I was in accord with Cassie.

☛ Ben “Zombie”
Throughout the book, reading the recycling of Cassie’s dull thoughts, I was glad whenever the name “Ben” showed up beneath the chapter headline. Ben’s POV was engaging, and his mind a place of both tranquillity and sobriety. He got into a lot more trouble than other characters, which meant a lot more action-packed scenes, and who can say No to that in a sci-fi, am I right? What I loved most about Ben, though, was his dark humour and his snarky attitude (well, most of the time), which Evan most often fell victim to, the poor guy.

I drop the rucksack over one shoulder and the rifle over the other. “Buzz Lightyear just told us they’re blowing up the cities.”

Or when he was just being all cute and hopeless.

”[…] My vote is south. Find a source of fresh water, miles from anywhere, as in the middle of nowhere.”
“And?” Ringer asks.
“And what?”
“And what then?”
“What then?”
“Yes. After we get to nowhere, then what?”
Ben lifts a hand. Lets it fall. His mouth curls into smile. He looks so boyishly cute in this moment that I feel like bursting into tears. “There’s five of us. I say we form a band.”

What did piss me off to some extent was how he continuously flirted with both Cassie and Ringer. Like dude, make up your freaking mind. You can’t keep two muffins in the oven. Frankly, I wanted it to be Cassie, because after that ‘Buzz Lightyear’ quote, I was so ready to jump ship (might also have to do with the overwhelming absence of Evan in this instalment but ok...)

☛ Marika “Ringer”
Ringer was the big surprise for me in this book. I didn’t care a lot of her POV in the sequel but, in The Last Star, she had a gripping personal storyline, held my interest, and didn’t take shit from anyone.

☛ Evan
As with The Infinite Sea, Yancey managed to make an interesting character disappear for a majority of the book. Evan was AWOL a lot. Hence, I don’t really have a lot to say about another character I was actually quite fond of in the previous books. I can’t even.

☛ Sam “Nugget”
I wasn’t particularly fond of how Sam was portrayed in The Last Star. The reader barely establishes an emotional connection to Cassie’s 5-yr old brother because his POVs are scarce and limited in their cognitive extension, but I thought that hitherto, Sam had been portrayed quite realistically. Not so in this book. Despite knowing that traumatized children do not think and act rationally, I did not like his damaged relationship with Cassie. Despite knowing that children are capable of pulling triggers, I don’t think it is possible on an anatomical nor a cognitive level for a 5-yr old to construct a wired bomb. Like, please correct me if any of you would like to share your experiences as bomb builders when you were children, but until proven otherwise: No.

My little brother has forgotten the alphabet but he knows how to make bombs.
A year ago it was crayons and coloring books, construction paper and Elmer’s glue. Now it’s fuses and blasting caps, wires and black powder.
Who wants to read a book when you can blow something up?

Umm, I do?

The plot: ☆☆☆

Plot-wise, the first book was the best of the series. I love it when characters have a goal, a quest, a purpose. In The Last Star, the plot meandered between sitting around and waiting for the sky to explode, and gatecrashing enemy parties. All in all, the plot would have been satisfying if Yancey hadn’t taken the scissors and cut off the ending where I thought shit was about to go down. Don’t get me wrong: Shit hits the fan several times in this book. There is definitely a bit more action than in The Infinite Sea but I really, really wanted to see that ending played out. I hate authors who dangle explosives in front of my face and then throw them in the ocean.

On the one hand, it makes sense that Cassie sacrifices her life for the purpose of defeating the enemy. Ok, I can live with that. But come on, couldn’t she have taken Evan down with her? The poor dude was just an empty shell in the epilogue and while we know that life isn’t rainbows and daisies, this just felt cruel. And wrong. And heartless.

And Vosch, the antagonist, was a crazy son of a bitch. The most dangerous men are those who do wrong but think they're doing something for the greater good, a lot like Eli in Vicious (umm, you haven't heard of or read this one yet? Better get onto it).

The writing: ☆☆

I still loved the feel of Yancey’s writing. It would be terrible with fantasy but it works wonderfully for a sci-fi. The apocalyptic feel was definitely there, and yet it lacked some of the spark it had in the previous books. I remember writing down a lot of quotes from The 5th Wave but in The Last Star, I wrote down two. Two quotes that were substantial and made me ponder over them for a while. One of them is the quote at the beginning of this review. The second one was about the absurdity of a teddy bear.

"[…] our highest achievement and the one thing for which I pray we will always be remembered, is stuffing wads of polyester into an anatomically incorrect, cartoonish ideal of one of nature's most fearsome predators for no other reason than to soothe a child."

The romance: ☆

My hands roamed his body, an undiscovered country, which henceforth I shall call Evanland. Hills and valleys, desert plains and forest glens, the landscape pockmarked with scars of battle, crisscrossed by fault lines and unexpected vistas. And I am Cassie the Conquistador: The more territory I conquer, the more I want.
His chest heaved: a subterranean quake that rose to the surface like a tsunamic wave.

Desert plains and forest glens? I'm sorry, is this supposed to be sexy? (Also, technically, she would be a conquistadorA, no?). This gave me the creeps. And then, while she’s supposed to worry for Evan’s safety, because the dude has serious martyr issues, she’s thinking this:

My face is hot. I’m thinking of the night I landed on the shores of Evanland and planted my flag upon that sculpted beach.

Excuse me while I go throw up.

I thought nothing could top SJM’s trembling mountains but this is horrendous.

Ben says something at that point, which I totally miss, because my mind has a way of scolding its own thoughts. Like, how could I be the flag-planter? Shouldn’t that be Evan?

WHO THE FUCK CARES?

Frankly, if I want to hear a monologue about flags, I’ll watch “Sheldon’s fun with flags” or a documentary on conspiracy theories whether the US has ever really planted a flag on the moon (*drumroll*) but THIS IS EXCRUCIATING.

Also, Ben and Ringer? Ehhh, those two did not click with me. They have zero chemistry whatsoever. And for the majority of the book, Ringer was mourning Razor, and then suddenly, she's in love with Ben in the epilogue. Ok. Sure. If you say so.

The sci-fi element: ☆☆☆

On the one hand, I'm quite satisfied with the conclusion to the sci-fi storyline, a.k.a. alien apocalypse. Yancey created an air of mystery while never fully losing touch with reality, especially after the revelations of the final instalment. On the other hand, I feel like after the previous books, maybe the sci-fi balloon had left some of its air? At times, this felt like a dystopian rather than a sci-fi.

While there are definitely redeeming qualities, another aspect that factored into this rating were my stratospherically high expections. The 5th Wave was one of my favourite reads in the past years, and after the Infinite Sea hadn't quite reached its epicness, I really expected for Yancey to step up his game for The Last Star. Yes, we do get action. Yes, some characters I still enjoyed. But foremost, the main character, the romance, and the ending weirded me out.

“Well, I’m not babysitting while you go all Don Quixote on this.”
“You know, making obscure literary references doesn’t impress me.”

Well, I’m sad to report that, as with Ben’s literary knowledge, this piece of literature wasn’t particularly impressive, either.

One of the hardest questions I’ve had to answer in the last few weeks: Would you recommend the series? Well, the first book ends with a nerve-wracking cliffhanger, so I wouldn’t try reading The 5th Wave as a standalone. I’ve seen other readers love this final instalment, regarding it as a fitting ending, so yes, if this sounds like it could be your jam, then I would pick up this multiple-POV series about an apocalypse that washed out humanity in 5 waves.










Edit September 2015:

"Want To Read". Ha! Understatement of the year.

LITERALLY. DYING. TO. READ. THIS.


Except if Yancey dares to kill off any of the important characters (Cassie. Ben. Sam. Ringer. Evan), then I'll probably buy it just for the pleasure of seeing it burn in my backyard. Be warned, Yancey.



Has anyone else noticed how Yancey picks his book titles from chapter captions of the previous installment?

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This ladies and gentlemen, is how you end a series. I'm freaking speechless.

I have a feeling a lot of people are going to be left feeling this way. This review is going to be hard to write... and seeing as it is the last in a trilogy I'm going to keep it spoiler free.. Going to warn you now, if you don't remember a lot from the first two books please take the time to go back and re-read them! You'll need the information you might have lost. The Last Star is everything I wanted out of a final book and then some. I got so many of the answers I was looking for. The mystery surrounding the 5th Wave is finally revealed.

"If they don't need bodies, they don't need a planet. and if they don't need a planet, why did they come for ours?"

The Last Star brings back all the characters you know and love. Giving everything we've been missing over the last year. Since this series is so character driven I was waiting on pin and needles to see how the finale would bring their development. We get a lot more Sammy in this book. Cassie's sweet, loveable, lost in a world of madness brother. We get to really see how being forced to grow up so young really shapes a person and their thoughts. Ringer is still this powerhouse. Still this tough egg that no one can seem to crack. Now that she's been enhanced she really gets to see what's on the line. That the world isn't just about her. I might have loved her in the first two books, but this one shows there is still so much of her we've never seen. Don't worry though she's still the expressionless genius she was before, but now she's fighting for more than just herself.

"I'm coming, you son of a bitch. You wanted to create a human without humanity. Now you're going to get one."

Then we have Evan Walker, the alien everyone loves to hate. All the mystery and guessing about him finally comes forth, perfectly groomed nails and all. He is still so sexy, forward, and so clear. He was my favorite character in the first two books (though he might have taken a step back in the last) everything about this book reminded me why I love him so much. We figured out why he is human, but not. Why he has been so torn, and now what he must do about it. There are some very yummy scenes with him that I've been dying for so that didn't hurt either. Now on to the last two characters, these were the two I was most worried about. Zombie and Cassie. Zombie and his charming smile doesn't disappoint in this series. This book made him. He is the glue that holds everything together. He is the kind of person the end of the world needs. He gives all his heart in this book. He becomes more than this ex jock girl crush he was before the attacks. And Lastly Cassie. Cassiopeia, the sassy, snarky, silver tongued, last human in humanity. She is everything I want out of my female protagonist. Her characters is so realistic. Her thoughts and actions mirror real life. I was scared with the weight of everything this book was going to bring that we weren't going to get the classic Cassie we were begging for, but we did. She still brings all her witty commentary...

"Whipped cream in a can. Those cinnamon rolls Mom made every Sunday morning. McDonald's French fries. Bacon. No, bacon was still a possibility. I would just have to find a hog, slaughter it, butcher it, cure the meat, then fry it up. Thinking about the bacon- the potential of bacon- gives me hope. Not all is lost if bacon isn't."

But she also brings so many emotions and heartache. She by far has the greatest character development in this series. She has come light years from the girl scared in her tent. From the girl who thought she was the last girl on earth. She is a fighter and will stop at nothing to take back the world. She continues to give everything she has in this final book. There is so much more I want to gush about these characters, but I refuse to go any further with them because of spoilers.

As for the plot of this book... God it had me worried. I'm not going to lie, it's a bit slow at first. It is very Rick Yancey like. It starts out slow, then has you completely baffled about what is going on and who will end up where, it'll twist your mind till it can't take anymore, then hit you dead on with a mind blowing surprise. This is a book that will make you work for the answers you've been seeking, and the battle is worth it. The Last Star just kept peeling back all these layers and everything comes together. This book perfectly ties every book together. It takes pieces from The 5th Wave, and sections of The Infinite Sea and molds them into The Last Star. Most of my time was spent scream WTF is going on... but the ending, Lord the ending. It is everything I wanted. The first three section might have been slower, but they are just setting the table for the last two. There's action, fighting, depth, loss, and love all beautifully crafted in less than 400 pages.


Rick Yancey has no problems taking bold strokes and this book proves it. He had me laughing, crying, on the edge of my seat, then crying all over again. He has proven that a final book in a series doesn't have to be perfectly neat that they can be messy. That they can be all the things you hate and love mushed together to make this crazy cluster F of a read. I had so many theories about how this would end, and they were all wrong and they were all right. Every little detail down to the title was perfectly woven together to make this masterpiece series complete.

An out of this world ending to my favorite alien trilogy.

[Julie]

My reaction to seeing this:

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

“She was the mayfly, here for a day, then gone. She was the last star, burning bright in a sea of limitless black.”

I read the first two books back-to-back last summer and I absolutely loved them—I think partly because I was binge-watching The Walking Dead at that time and the books reminded me in some way of the show and also because this series is just completely epic.

So when I finished The Infinitive Sea after being in a book-marathoning haze, I couldn’t believe I had to wait a full year to find out what would happen next.

And now here I am finished with the last book with tears in my eyes because THIS WORLD WAS EVERYTHING.
I was so scared that I wouldn’t love it quite as much as the first two because it’s been so long (and because I quit watching TWD after season 5— I’m still mad about that season), but I needn’t have worried.
I don’t know how, but I forgot how much I loved this series and, thankfully, The Last Star brought it all back. The humor and snarky comments and everything was just right up my ally. I’m still reeling from how good it was.
And you know a book is that good when you don’t even pay attention to how many pages you’ve read. (It also helps that Rick writes short chapters, which are my favorite in big books.)



This review contains *spoilers*.

The amount of times I gasped throughout this novel were one too many. Every twist and turn came so unexpectedly and there was just so much happening that putting this book down didn’t even cross my mind. Every time I expected a zig, there was a zag, and I just applaud Rick Yancey.



A quick recap taken from bookseriesrecaps.com —The five strange waves of the attack are as follows:

1st wave – a massive electromagnetic pulse (It happened 10 days after satellites captured the first images of the alien mothership nearing Earth.)
2nd wave – an earthquake, which caused an enormous tsunami (It took out 40% of the Earth’s population, those who lived within 60 miles of a coastline.)
3rd wave – an awful Ebola-like virus made airborne and spread through bird feces (It wiped out 97% of the people who contracted it.)
4th wave – intruders planted long ago in human babies (They awakened when the hosts became teenagers, and these infested humans begin to quietly kill any surviving humans. Humans refer to them as Silencers.)
5th wave – kids taken away from their families and trained as soldiers (They are trained to kill anyone who lights up green, which they think are infested humans but actually are the opposite.)


The first chapter in this book starts out from the point of view of a very creepy priest. I had no idea what to take from that but, as I’ve noticed in this series, everything comes full circle.

“The lights go out, they come back on. The floodwaters roll in, they roll out again. Folks get sick, they get better. Life goes on. That’s true faith, isn’t it?”.

We leave creepy priest for a while to focus on my favorite survival group and the discovery that they have four days left till the end of the world..

My mantra throughout this whole journey was that nobody was going to die on my watch. Not Evan not Ben not Sammy or Cassie and certainly not Ringer.

And speaking of Sam, seeing what a toll the war had taken on him just broke me.

“He crawls into the bed opposite Megan’s and stares at the bare wires and the two dusty metal balls hanging from the ceiling. Megan is watching him, pulling Bear tight against her chest, and her mouth hangs open a little, like the air is running out.
He turns his head toward the wall. He doesn’t want Megan to see him cry.
He isn’t a baby. He’s a soldier.”
I'm definitely not crying right now, right?




In the previous books Cassie’s chapters were my favorite ones but, as Ringer put it, she could be timid but impulsive, naïve but serious, sensitive but flippant.
Yet Cassie has this perfectly distinguishable voice with just the right amount of funny, sentimental and, okay, sometimes a bit self-absorbed.

“I have to get this straight. Now. Like, right now.
This being my head.
Four A.M. Jazzed up on too much chocolate (thanks, Grace) and too much Evan Walker. Or not enough Evan Walker. That’s an inside joke, if you can make inside jokes in a private journal. I’ll get to the private parts later. Ha! Another joke. You know you’ve reached a very sad place when the only person who can make you laugh is yourself.”



Her humor and, surprisingly, Ben’s sarcasm were the icing on the cake for this story.

I still can’t believe Cassie told Ben about her old-time crush. She as bold as I’ll never be.

“There is something I’d like to say.”
“I’m listening.”
Looking away. Looking at nothing. Deep breath. Don’t say it, Cass. What’s the point now? There is no point. Maybe that’s something we both need to understand.
“I’ve had a crush on you since the third grade,” I whisper. “I wrote your name in notebooks. I drew hearts around it. I decorated it with flowers. Mostly daisies. I had daydreams and dream-dreams, and nobody knew except my best friend. Who is dead. Like everybody else.”
I had to put down my book for a solid minute because I was laughing so hard. (I still am.)



But on a more serious not, that ending just shattered my reality. It did feel a little rushed, I barely accepted one death when another came around.

And then Cassie entered Vosch’s pod, which at first I didn’t really get why. Until I did— when she reached into her pocket and fished out the capsule. It was unbearably sad because she went through so much during this series and she didn’t get to have her happy ending with Sammy.

“I am entwined with everything, from mayflies to the farthest star. I have no boundaries, I am limitless, and I open to creation like a flower to the rain.
I’m not cold anymore. The arms of the seven billion enfold me.
I rise.”

But at the same time I was so damn proud of her for standing up for herself. It’s just such a bittersweet ending to everything.
And I know that I’ll cherish this series for a very long time, I seriously cannot wait for what Rick Yancey will write next.

*Note: I'm an Amazon Affiliate. If you're interested in buying The Last Star, just click on the image below to go through my link. I'll make a small commission!*


This review and more can be found on my blog.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 2.5

The 5th Wave trilogy is over. Unfortunately, as the series went on each book got worse. It's sad to see a book that has so much potential be wasted away due to characterization problems.

Yancey has the tendency to contradict himself. Cassie said she didn't believe in love, Cassie is in love with multiple people. Cassie says she's gonna have sex with one person she truly loves and that she's gonna wait for the right time, Cassie has sex in the heat of the moment with Evan (saying he loves the "idea" of her). Cassie says she doesn't do sports, Cassie plays soccer. Cassie says she doesn't like Ben, Cassie still fantasizes about him. It's all a big mess. Ringer criticizes Ben for burying Dumbo, Ringer buries the entire squad she kills.

Ben in the first book was written so well. My goodness, I loved that boy. In the second book he gets brushed aside. In this book however he becomes a main focus again. But he's different. Ben's perspective is so weird in this book. He's saying things he wouldn't say, he's DUMB! In the second book he was dumb too but in this book he's still dumb which I don't understand since he supposed to be smart! What really bothered me though was this constant joking about his character being based on his mistake with his sister. It's kind of like Yancey treated it like it wasn't a big deal to Ben anymore: "'Like you went back for Sam. Like you didn't go back for-' 'Yes. No. Oh, shit.'" First of all who even says "oh, shit" to something like that? Second of all, why is what happened to his sister something so conversational? Cassie just mentions it like it's nothing. Ben losing his sister marked him in T5W but in this book that driving force, that haunting he had was so irrelevant. I didn't get to read his development and feel his pain. I didn't even feel anything from his relationship with Nugget which was such a driving force for him in T5W and even in TIS. Ben cares more for Nugget than Cassie does and in this book he forgets him multiple times which is so unrealistic.

Yancey tries too hard to make each of his characters strange. He relies a lot on making them think about weird things in moments where they shouldn't be. Cassie shouldn't be thinking about her crooked nose and Ringer's perfect nose when she's gonna die. There's no sense of urgency in this book just because there's too much aloofness in each character. Because they're all so weird and random they kind of blend into each other.

As for the romance, this book would be better off without it. I find that most of the parts that don't seem right, personality wise, are when they're involving romance. Cassie and Evan will forever be on the worst pairings to ever exist. I never got any sense of love from either of them. Cassie was too confused to even know what love is in relation to Evan. Her confused feelings for Evan put him in front of Sam multiple times which bothered me a lot. Evan on the other hand is completely and utterly obsessed with her which is so creepy. I don't like how Yancey romanticized his obsession with her, especially how she got shot by him. Now, onto the most random pairing ever: Ben and Ringer. What in the world? It's almost like he needed to have a couple at the end and he just shoved Ringer and Ben together. They've been together for 2 whole books and Yancey didn't hint at any attraction or feelings towards either of them. Why not keep it platonic? In fact, he even made Ben look like he cared about Cassie in this last book. He was always touching her face and then suddenly he liked Ringer and was jealous of Razor...? Why didn't Yancey just keep Razor alive considering Ringer was pregnant? And why was she pregnant? All of a sudden this book became so melodramatic. It's like I was watching a soap opera. Of course she's pregnant!

All in all, a huge disappointment. I loved the ending for Cassie and the small bits of characterization that underwent when there was NO romance. But the book dragged on and on with forced romance and inconsistent perspectives. The ending and overall meaning of the story was downplayed. It could've been executed a lot better. There was no sense of closure with what the Others wanted and why. They were just there and I guess they were gone?

SAVE BEN PARISH 2K15 (Ben is not Ben anymore tbh)

[Rose · Rating 2 out of 5]

so a couple of things:

1. that was depressing as hell
2. what the fuck just happened
3. SERIOUSLY WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!

-S-P-O-I-L-E-R-S-

Let me just start off by saying that the first two books in this series were some of my favorite books ever. Not just books I loved, but books that were favorites among the hundreds I've read. If not for some of the actions of certain characters (Evan and Cassie, that's you), I would've given this 1 star.

Sad, right?

Not only did this book a.) take me a million years to read b.) put me to sleep and c.) make me angry, but it also made me partially regret even starting the series. So anyway, gonna list some reasons for disliking this book and THEY'RE SPOILERS, especially number 4, so heads up!

1.) Ben and Ringer. Am I the only one who never saw Ben/Zombie's thing for Ringer in the past books? I always thought they were just friends who trusted and respected each other, but I never once saw a romance there.... And suddenly *poof*, Ben's adoration for Ringer pretty much overpowers everything. Both of them were my favorite characters and then suddenly, they weren't.

2.) What even was the plot? What actually happened throughout this whole book? There were so many times I just got lost or read without really 'reading', and then had to go back to the beginning of the chapter. And then when I did, I realized: nothing important or interesting happened anyway.

3.) The god awful 'sex scene' with Cassie and Evan. I shipped them, but I was kind of hoping for Ben and Cassie at the end. I thought it'd be cute since she'd always had a crush on him, you know? I'm okay that they didn't end up together, but Evan and Cassie didn't have to be so weird with each other. *shivers*

4.) THAT ENDING. Cassie dead, Evan depressed, Sam literally not giving a shit for Cassie, Ben just being there, and Ringer with a baby............................. okay then. I wanted a crazy, mind-blowing finale, and instead I closed my book feeling dead inside. Nice.

Overall, yeah I hated it.. but I still think Yancey's a great writer and storyteller. And I definitely do not discourage others from reading the last book or series, because who knows? You may like it.

[Roshni Ajmal]

This book better ties up That crazy plot twist neatly. Otherwise i am going to be very angry.

[Cynthia Troncquo]

Waiting for the book = Die
Having the book = Die

[Ahmad Sharabiani · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Last Star (The 5th Wave #3), Rick Yancey

The Last Star is a young adult science fiction novel written by American author Rick Yancey. It was published on May 24, 2016, by G. P. Putnam's Sons.

The novel is the third and final in The 5th Wave trilogy, preceded by The Infinite Sea. The Last Star concludes the story of 16-year-old Cassiopeia "Cassie" Sullivan battling against the aliens that have invaded Earth. It continues the story from where it left off in The Infinite Sea.

تاریخ نخستین خوانش: روز نهم ماه دسامبر سال2016میلادی

عنوان: سه گانه موج پنجم - کتاب سوم - آخرین ستاره؛ نویسنده: ریک یانسی؛ برگردان مهنام عبادی؛ ویراستار نیما کهندانی؛ تهران، بهداد، سال1395؛ شابک9786008203131؛ موضوع: داستانهای نویسندگان ایالات متحده آمریکا - سده21م

عنوانهای کتابهای سه گانه موج پنجم: کتاب اول «موج پنجم»؛ کتاب دوم «دریای بیکران»؛ کتاب سوم «آخرین ستاره»؛

سه گانه ی موج پنجم بازنمایی یورش سنگین بیگانگان به زمین ما است، چهار موج پیشین زمین را به عصر پارینه سنگی بدل کرده، و انسانها و مردمان بسیاری را از بین برده است؛ «کیسی سالیوان» شانزده ساله، در تلاش است، تا برادر کوچکتر خویش را از تازش مرگبار بیگانگان، در برابر «موج پنجم» زنده نگاه دارد؛ آنها این پایین، آن بالا، و در آسمان هستند، هیچ کجا دیده نمیشوند؛ زمین را میخواهند، میخواهند زمین مال خود ما باشد؛ برای پاکسازی ما آمده اند، برای نجاتمان آمده اند؛ ا��ا در پس همگی این رازها، راستی دیگری نهفته است: به کسی خیانت شده؛ به «رینگر»، به «زامبی»، به «ناگت» و به هفت و نیم میلیارد انسانی که روی سیاره مان زندگی میکردند؛ نخست «دیگران» خیانت کرده اند، و سپس خودمان نادانسته به همان «دیگرا» یاری کرده ایم؛ در این روزهای پایانی، بازماندگان زمین باید بدانند که کدام یک از اهمیت بیشتری برخوردار است: نجات خودشان...؛ یا نجات آنچه از ماها انسان میسازد...؛

تاریخ بهنگام رسانی 07/02/1400هجری خورشیدی؛ 27/01/1401هجری خورشیدی؛ ا. شربیانی

[Katerina Kondrenko · Rating 1 out of 5]

2.5 out of 10

Ревью в моем блоге/This review on my blog
Living A Thousand Lives (please use Chrome/Yandex browser or Android/IOS to see the page; otherwise, spoiler-tags I use to make my post compact may not work)

Short-Soundtrack:
Dead Man's Bones – Lose Your Soul
Dikta – Someone, Somewhere
Mich Gerber ft. Jaël of Lunik – You Remain

Genre: apocalyptic, YA
Stuff: aliens, humans, the end of the world
Fail: lame explanations, the final
WOW: Evan and Cassie
POV: 1st and 3rd person, multi
Love-Geometry: none

Quote-Core:

"Who needs a 12th System when you have a heart like Cassie Sullivan’s?"

Buddy-read with Nastassja, Julia and Vera (who's very busy but she's with us and would finish the book long before the end of the world).

First of all, SPOILER ALERT. Just close your eyes and run away if you don't want to be spoiled. For the rest of you, let's get the party started.

I'm sure, many of you haven't read my reviews for the first books in this series, 'cause they were written in Russian only and I was too lazy to translate them. But believe me, I loved The 5th Wave and really liked The Infinite Sea. I was aware of its flaws but had hope for logical explanations Yancey could give us later. As long as The Last Star was out of my reach, there was a chance for an epic conclusion. Now I've read it and... WTF?

Do you see this falling star? That's not a star. Surprise! That's my excitement for this series shortly before it burned in the atmosphere.

Now to the reasons.

Quite every character was OOC. It's like the author forgot what kind of persons they used to be: Cassie lost her wits, Sam was acting like a bitch, Ringer became Mary Sue and Special Snowflake side by side, Ben was his average self only this time he was also sweet upon Ringer and swearing at Sam, Evan was... Evan wasn't. Just wasn't there for the most part of the book.

Cassie. She's been my favorite female-lead with this series from book #1. Her outer thorns and inner vulnerability dressed up with a good sarcasm were an awesome mix, pus her way to tell the story was the most entertaining among other POVs. The Last Star showed me another Cassie. I was rolling my eyes every time she was speaking or even thinking. I mean,

"My face is hot. I’m thinking of the night I landed on the shores of Evanland and planted my flag upon that sculpted beach."

Said no girl ever. Even during the apocalyptic time.

Next to the end, Cassie got back to her old self and though the damage was done I liked her better than Ringer the Great.

Ringer. This girl was so irritating: too smart, too special, too beautiful, too everything. She was one of the secondary characters in The 5th Wave , but then people start praising her, and in the second book she replaced Cassie on the main female character's throne. That could be okay if in the third installment the central hero was Ben or Evan (why not Evan?!) or even Vosch. But it was Ringer all over again. I hated her attitude. She was such a hypocrite with looking down her nose at people, considering them stupid, and judging them non-stop while making mistakes too. The other characters couldn't stop thinking of how brilliant, strong and amazing she was, of her silky hair and porcelain skin. Silky hair... bah. Even Vosch loved her. There were thousands of teens, but he was charmed only by her.

Ben. Hm... I'm not sure about him. He was charming indeed, but his charms were all about Ringer. I might like how funny and kind he was, even loved him as lone hero: Ben Parrish without cheesy crush on Ringer. But in The Last Star Ben I might like was gone. Also I didn't recognize his way of thoughts and choice of words. Little shit? Son of a bitch? I can't remember him saying something like that toward Sam before.

Sam. This 6-year-old was acting, thinking, and feeling like a mature person, which was pretty ridiculous. He was taken by military at the age of 5, had spent in their camp only 2 or 3 months and escaped being a totally different child. I'm talking not about the psycho trauma he must get after such adventures, I'm talking about guns, killings, and making bombs. About hatred and his behavior around Cassie. A few weeks in an army-like place can't change you so fundamentally. Zombie became his everything, Ringer became his idol, Meghan became his friend, Cassie became a part of the furniture. How on Earth? For what? Also, Yancey couldn't decide whether Sam did grow up at a record pace or remained a child. One minute he acted like an adult, the other was getting into a fight for his Bear's name with a little girl. All in all, I wasn't amused.

Evan. This character made me feel. He was the only "Other" among the rest of the heroes, and while readers already knew the truth about Evan's nature, he wasn't aware of it and still went against 'his own' kind. Why? Because of a mere girl. THAT. That's precisely my favorite type of hero. I can't relate with martyrs those goals are to save 'em all. But I understand the willingness to do anything for a single person. That's a very human thing. Also, his character was complicated, he had a conflict within. Why Yancey decided not to develop him better? There was an ocean of potential. Instead, we had to endure the same old song about VQP and similar jazz.

Romance. Oh dear God, that was terrific.

The only couple with real feelings (I mean Cassie and Evan) had nothing in this book, aside from the sorta 'rapping' scene. After that they just went and died. One forever, the other just for while. Yes, deeds are louder than words, sacrifices have more weight than kisses and hugs, but...

Ringer's sob-fest about Razor was lame, repetitive, and boring. The pregnancy thing was predictable and unrealistic. One sex-time, a lot of pre-stress, and voila, a baby. Needless to say, the child's survival was fantasy-like. Ringer said that the 12th system protects only its host, it can regenerate your body, but not the embryo or fetus you carry inside. Recalling how badly Ringer was beating during the book, I see no way she could keep the pregnancy. Really.

Ringer plus Ben was a forced and chemistry-less pairing. She loved Razor and then suddenly 'Only Zombie matters' did happen. He was an adequate guy and then people started to die because Ringer was all he could dream about. He even forgave her deception immediately, 'cause she was bad-ass and beautiful. Ughr...

Okay, we can assume this book wasn't about love, that's why this part of the story was poorly written. But it was! Yancey did say that, not me.

Writing style. There were a few powerful scenes, several smart lines and a couple of feeling-packed pages, but mostly it was a repetitive (VERY REPETITIVE), milk-and-water-ish prose. There were moments for those I'd been waiting since The 5th Wave and they turned out to be rushed or aborted. Yeah, 'cause better to talk about people's cooperation and trust for the 342762876th time with the same words and the same conclusions.

The details. We found out that the Others had music and their true appearance was gross. What else? Nothing else. Their goal was simple, our cure was its match. Love. Unpredictable and unfathomable. Yeah, except it's a biochemical process. Study a psychopath and you'd get what he lacks to be able to love. Also, love IS predictable. Look at Cassie and her devotion for Same, look at Evan and his sacrifices for Cassie. Their reactions WERE predictable. That's I didn't buy that. Love is a good and reasonable excuse in stories about local wars, but not about alien invasions. Moreover, I don't understand why aliens so complicated their task? Vosch said they simply wanted to cleanse the Earth, to reset our ecosystem, that's why they'd started to change human nature, so we could kill one another without their help. Also, they were going to bomb all the marks of our civilization. Okay, they could bomb cities without any prelude, make the earthquakes harder, thus tsunami could be higher (like in movie "2012"), and then

Goodbye, everything. Duh.

The ending. Cassie died. Somehow it was natural and fitting (after uploading so many memories into her head, after chemical rain, after Evan's erasing...). But her death wasn't enough, 'cause it was too much. I mean, there were five main characters (I don't count Meghan) and only one had to die in the end. That's why Cassie's fate seemed too tragic and too unfair. Someone (or two) else had to die as well. And I wasn't impressed with how Yancey described her death. There were so many crooked-nose-thoughts, I might think that Cassie committed suicide instead of sacrificing herself.

I think Cassie's heroic act didn't save people. Just gave them a break. What would stop aliens from coming again? They got that the mothership was destroyed and they definitely have another. You're safe as long as no one in the cosmos learns about your existence. People had already blown their cover, that's why Cassie's death wasn't for nothing but was in vain.

Also, I hate that now Ringer has a baby named after Cassie, lives with her little brother and school-crush, and had resurrected Evan, 'cause humans have to suffer. Who do you think you are? What did you do aside from charming Vosch with your awfully brooding self? Brought death on Teacup's, Pundcakes's, Dumbo's, and Razor's heads with leaving the Hotel.

My ideal final:

"Three Bens, two Cassies, a couple of Sams, and, of course, the literal duality of Evan Walker."

No Ringer. No Marika. No porcelain skin.

Overall. WHY OH WHY.

The 5th Wave (Пятая волна):

— The 5th Wave (Пятая волна) #1/3
— The Infinite Sea (Бесконечное море) #2/3
— The Last Star (Последняя звезда) #3/3

[Amal]

This 3rd book is taking too long to come out nearly over than a year now!

So I'm waiting ...



In the line with the others who are also waiting...












It is too much waiting, already!

[Aj the Ravenous Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

I doubt the finale of this supposedly epic series is meant to be funny but if there’s anything the book achieved, it’s that it really was funny- the cheesy kind, hundreds of eye-rolls worthy kind of funny but funny nonetheless. “Ben, Has-Ben and What-Might-Have-Ben” really cracked me up in the cheesiest way possible. But is it just me or did anybody else notice that change in tone because I couldn’t seem to recall Cassie this funny or even Ben for that matter. I guess the end of the world makes survivors comediennes/comedians.

“You know you’ve reached a very sad place when the only person who can make you laugh is yourself.”

*Guess I’m in a very, very sad place right now, tsk, tsk.*

But even though I did enjoy the humor and sarcasm, Cassie felt like a totally different person here with all her cheesy and snarky narrations. It’s the end of the world and there Cassie goes writing tacky, personal fantasies in her journal while Ben uses his one thousand kilowatt killer smile as weapon against the enemy or the girl he desires. *eye-roll times 1000*

I only kept reading on because I needed my closure but without that resolve, I doubt I’d have the strength to finish the novel because half of the time I was pretending to understand the mess that is the plot and the other half, I was rolling my eyes over the unwise decisions of the characters, of the absurdity of the whole Fifth Wave concept and over the unresolved conflicts within and among the characters.

***Not really a spoiler but may be interpreted as a spoiler by some so read at your own risk***

And because this is a post apocalyptic trilogy, aside from the many characters that kept dying since the first book, somebody really important had to die. It’s now your job to find who that is which isn’t exactly a very difficult task because the clues are all over the place. Jeez! Initially I thought it gave the story poetic justice but after I read everything, my only thought was: What’s the point?!
Uncle Ricky, you owe me big time. :(

[Chelsea ✨Arielle’s Nebular Ally and Team Acrux✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Call me Zombie.
Everything hurts. Even blinking hurts. But I’m getting up. That’s what zombies do.
We rise.

Okay so…I’m not guna lie. I had a review that I LOVED written out, but my laptop is acting up again and it shut off before my USB saved it. I was going to recreate it, I was in the process of doing so, but it seems stupid. Those were REAL emotions and they flowed out of me so easily…but that’s what happens when you truly connect with a story. So, seeing as I loved this story, this series, these characters with all my heart, I made a connection so strong, so unyielding that I have a lot to say. Too much to say.

So there you go. You can love the good in us and hate the bad, but the bad is in us, too. Without it, we wouldn’t be us.

So, instead of trying to recreate those raw emotions, this amazing idea I had explaining how beautiful bookends could be (you’d have totally dug it, guyz-as it is, this makes no sense. Had you read my profound thoughts in said erased review, you’d have been all…wow, that makes sense. Obvi), I’m going to go a different direction. Write a wholly different review with another set of raw emotions…because that just proves to you how much this book and series meant to me. A whole review of epic, wonderful, well-thought out things I bared from my soul are gone forever with no ounce of documentation…and I’m barely upset.

I’ll kill until I lose count. I’ll kill until counting doesn’t matter.

Sure, I’m angry, I loved what I did. But, as it is, I could never say everything I’m thinking in one review, so another take on my thoughts couldn’t hurt. It’s just not the same. Anyway. My feels know no bounds. Sorry I rambled. Sorry I’ve been thinking about this since I finished 24 hours ago. Sorry I have re read my quotes over and over and over and over again…and I still break down every time.

It’s more than Zombie can handle. He falls against the side of the barricade, gulping air, his face lifted up to the sky. Lost, found, dead, alive, the cycle repeats; there’s no escape, there’s no reprieve. Zombie closes his eyes and waits for his breath to slow, his heart to steady. A small break before it begins again: the next loss, the next death.

It’s not often I love a whole series from beginning to end. It’s a rarity. Authors start out these series with promising ideas, wonderful, charismatic characters, and the question of what’s to come for everything involved. We wait and we wait and we wait…Because no matter how much we beg and plead and cry for the next book, it’s all a fruitless endeavor, isn’t it? They do what they want anyway, right? Especially those last books…they love to pull those final book extensions because 'You want it to be what it’s meant to be right? You don’t want it messed up. We’re doing this to give you the best story possible. Don’t you want the perfect end to your beloved series??? You wouldn’t want to ruin that, would you?’ So they tweak and they twist and they turn and they add and delete and edit edit edit and they don’t release it until they are damn well ready to.

She was the mayfly, here for a day, then gone. She was the last star, burning bright in a sea of limitless black.

So…we sit again. We wait. And then it appears on our e-readers or on our doorstep and we immediately download it at midnight and read and read and read and then it’s like…that’s it? This is the end we waited for? Not everyone gets as disappointed, haughty, or judgmental as I, though, apparently, because there have been, like, seven releases this year for finales and I’ve hated 6 out of the 7 while others loved them. It’s been rather…devastating.

I supposed I could turn to Bear. It was always easy to talk to him. We had hours of conversation, good conversation, during those weeks when it was just me and him hiding in the woods. Bear’s an excellent listener. He never yawns or interrupts or walks away. Never disagrees, never plays games, never lies. I go where you go, always, that’s Bear’s jam.
Bear proves that true love doesn’t have to be complicated-or even reciprocated.

So when I saw this was close to finally being released (DAMN YOU, YOU STUPID 8 (or however many) month set back!) I was blasé about it. What did I even have to look forward to, ya know??? I have hated almost every series end this year and have been living in heartbreak hotel all by my lonesome as each bbf’s story crumbled to ashes. And then this little morsel appeared on my iPad. My hopes were low, I didn’t set the bar too high….but anyone that knows me knows this was a defense mechanism. I have loved this series since it was first released years ago. I have followed Cassie on her journey from the very beginning as she chased after Sammy, held that damnable teddy bear, found a deep bond with an otherworldly sniper, and her teenage crush. She has been through the ringer (HA! That bitch….) and only wants to make a world where her little brother can live and see it as she has gotten to. See the universe’s beauty, the stars, the sky. Birds and rivers and schools and friendship and love. Not devastation, war, battling to wake up each day alive, fighting for each breath earned. Not needing to hold up a gun at every stranger lest they rip you to shreds or shoot your head off before you get a chance to. A world with trust. A world with unity. A world with peace and kindness….a world with hope. A world like before.

And I run on. Through a primordial landscape unscarred by any human thing, the world as it was before trust and cooperation unleashed the beast of progress. The world is circling back now to what it was before we knew it. Paradise lost. Paradise returned.

This. Book. Was. Everything. It was rain clouds and sunshine and laughter and friendship and sacrifice and loyalty. It was every moment. It was every thought. It was your waking breath and your final memory before sleep. It was your dreams and your consciousness and it was….everything.

But the most wonderful thing of all, our highest achievement and the one thing for which I pray we will always be remembered, is stuffing wads of polyester into an anatomically incorrect, cartoonish ideal of one of nature’s most fearsome predators for no other reason than to soothe a child.

I was prepared for x. I was prepared for xx. I was even prepared for xxx….but what I didn’t expect, what I wasn’t ready for…I wasn’t prepared for this. How does an author…do this? I can’t explain it. In no way can it be described. It’s like…you know you’re hungry, but you aren’t sure what you feel like. So you kind of just…chill. Take it all in, decide to go for the ride and see what you feel like in a minute. And then all of a sudden someone hands you something or you see a meal come out in front of you and it just…clicks. That is what you want, and it is exactly what you needed-You just didn’t know it.

Reduce the human population to a sustainable number, then crush the humanity out of it, since trust and cooperation are the real threats to the delicate balance of nature, the unacceptable sins that drove the world to the edge of a cliff.

And that’s this story. This trilogy had integrity from the start. Whether you liked, hated, or loved, no one could say it lacked originality or that it didn’t pique your curiosity. I mean, everyone can agree on that, right? I’m real big on integrity, and I’ve been super upset this year that so many series have lost their…spark, their originality. They have lost the thing that makes them so special and what made them stand out among all the other series, in my mind. But this series…from book one on, I have been nothing but awed. Nothing but impressed. The second book got dark, therefore making me even more of a fan, even as some people dwindled off and lost their love for it. Hey, you can’t win with everyone.

Lying is like murder-after the first one, each one that follows is easier.

But then this was released….and I can’t even explain how perfectly perfect this was wrapped up. And here’s the most beautiful thing about it: It wasn’t wrapped up in a neat little bow. BOOM. I just…YES. Thank you!!! These dystopian authors think that their crumbling world has to be put back together in the end, that the world could so easily be re-made, rebooted, whatever. But no. Fuck that. Life is messy. The world is messy. We are messy. Humanity has been ripped from all these people and we expect it all to be fixed by a few action scenes? I don’t think so. And Yancey didn’t even try to pull that shit. Each scene was a building block and a new layer on an intricately pieced together puzzle, and until that final sentence, that final paragraph, that final moment…nothing fit. And that’s the most amazing, mesmerizing, breath-taking thing to me: It was perfectly imperfect….and therein lies the integrity. Loads and loads of integrity…and I am utterly speechless about it. (Well…)

Why must I always be the isle of crazy alone in an ocean of sensibility? The should to everybody else’s shouldn’t? The I-will to their better-nots?

I couldn’t breathe from beginning to end. My heart was beating faster and faster with each progressing page. My mind was racing at the speed of light, trying it’s fucking hardest to figure out what was going to happen, who would make it (would anyone make it?), how it would end, who was worth keeping and who was worth discarding. And…okay, I’ll fucking admit it, who the hell Cassie would be with, in the end. Sorry. Is what it is-but the best part??? THIS STORY. This story was larger than a girl and a boy and another boy and a slightly mean sniper girl-This series and this end made me proud of the dystopian genre, again. This is how you end a series. This is how it’s done.

Squad 53 is gone, broken apart, dead or missing or dying or running.
RIP, squad 53.

I don’t remember so much humor, this dark comic relief that Cassie Sullivan possessed, and Ben Parish’s humor and determination to keep things light in the face of certain death. And I know I shouldn’t say it, I know it sounds bleak, but I’d be shorting myself if I didn’t say it: This book has one of the most heartbreaking scenes I’ve ever read. And it’s not what you’d think…but it burns. It burns so good.

The others concluded that the only way to save the world was to annihilate civilization. Not from without, but from within. The only way to annihilate human civilization was to change human nature.

I find it important to note, also, that I literally snarled at my husband because of this book. That’s right. At precisely 12:41 AM on the 25th (or was it technically the 26th?) of May, my hubbs woke up and proceeded to try and be suave and play nice and flirt with me once he saw I was awake and I literally, and I do mean LITERALLY, looked over and bared my teeth at him with a very viscous, aggressive, and otherwise very unattractive snarl-scraggly as I was, this did not help. You know, that tangled hair and tears streaming down my face while battling my choking sobs. I might have even been giving a very valiant effort at pulling my hair out. Silly boy, don’t you know not to interrupt the reader while she’s fully submerged in another reality??

They wanted a mindless, stone-cold killer to let loose on the world. They wanted a zombie. Now they’ve got one.

All the feels. All the stars. I was crushed in a way I wasn’t prepared for. And it’s my own fault, really. Because seriously…I was too busy judging my love for all the characters and my emotional investment in them:

Cassie-Can’t remember how I felt before, but OBSESSED with her now
Evan-Still like but…just not like I used to
Ben Parish-AGHHHHHH more than I even remember possible!! I WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER, my Zombie!! Protect me! lol
Ringer-Begrudgingly like, how I’ve pretty much always felt
Nugget-Oh, Nugget, must you hurt your sister’s feelings, so?? But anyway, love his POV now, whereas I never did before

Anyway…my point. How could I forget? Humanity comes first, in the end. I HATE YOU, YOU STUPID BOOK. I lie. I love you so much. Come…come join your friends on the bookshelf…





More quotes I didn't get to put in (if you wana read them :P):

I stood up. Then I sat back down. There was nowhere to go. Well, I could go to the kitchen and make a sandwich, except there was no bread or deli meat or cheese. I don’t know the particulars, but I’m pretty sure there’s a Subway on every corner in heaven. Also Godiva stores. On our second day here, I found Grace’s stash of forty-six boxes of Godiva chocolates. Not that I counted them.

After Sam hit me on the nose, I burst out of the bathroom, soaking wet, whereupon I smacked into Ben Parish’s chest. Ben was lurking in the hallway as if every little thing that has to do with Sam is his responsibility, the aforesaid little shit screaming obscenities at my back, the only dry part of my body after trying to wash his, and Ben Parish, the living reminder of my father’s favorite saying that it’s better to be lucky than smart, gave me that ridiculous what’s up? look, so stupidly cute that I was tempted to break his nose, thereby making him not so damn Ben Parish-y looking.

Stopping just short of the doorway, I pull out one of the stun grenades. I slip my finger into the pin. My hands are shaking. A dribble of sweat courses down the middle of my back. This is how they get you, this is how they crush the spirit right out of you. Out of the blue the past is rammed down your throat, a gut punch of memories of all the things you took for granted, the things that you lost in the blink of an eye, the stupid, trivial, forgettable things you didn’t know could crush you, things like an old woman’s quivery voice, high-pitched and far away, calling you inside for a plate of warm cookies and a glass of ice-cold milk.

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Wow. I'm...actually speechless. My heart...is that my heart ripped to shreds on the floor?

I don't know what to say. I don't know how to process [all the epic].

I am a walking, talking ZOMBIE and I definitely didn't sleep last night.

Zombie.

Finally. Finally an author who ends a trilogy the way it should be....and I was highly critical-you bet your ass on that. No free 5 star hand out here. Just....I am without words. Can't complete full sentences. I am without emotion. Comatose.

Yeah. Just call me Zombie.

[Mario · Rating 5 out of 5]

But I am even more than this. I am all those they remember, the ones they loved, everyone they knew, and everyone they only heard about. How many are contained in me? Count the stars. Go on, number the grains of sand. That's me.
I am humanity.


Damn, this book completely destroyed me.

The Last Star was one of my most anticipated books, if not the most anticipated book, of this year. And because of that, I was really hoping that Yancey would end the trilogy in a nice way, and that the ending wouldn’t suck. And now that I’ve read it, I can safely say that Yancey ended the book in an amazing way. I was still left wanting more, but at the same time I’m satisfied with the way the book ended.

Now moving on to the plot. From the beginning, I loved the places the story went. I loved that we got multiple points of view, and that we heard from every main character evenly. Unlike the second book, which focused mostly on Ringer, this one focused on every main character. Speaking of characters: Cassie, Evan and Ringer continued to be my favorites (Cassie, especially). I loved her sense of humor, and I enjoyed reading from her point of view the most. that's why the way Yancey ended her story hit me so damn hard I also loved that this book referenced many quotes and events from the first book, and that we kind of got a closure to those events and quotes.

I should probably now stop, before I start rambling. All in all, I loved this whole trilogy, and I was satisfied with the ending (even though it left me feeling sad and depressed, the ending was still beautiful). If you haven’t still started this series I would genuinely recommend starting it, because it truly is amazing, and it is easily going into my 'all time favorite trilogies' list.

[Jasmine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Latest Update: 24/05/2017
GUYS!!!! Do you know that there'll be three new books based on The 5th Wave trilogy??? The next installment will be out in spring, 2018!!! Read the announcement HERE!!!!

Although I disliked the ending of this one, now I have high hope for a better one *FINGERS AND TOES CROSSED* !!! What do you think? Are you excited about it? Please let me know! :D


Review: 11/09/2016

They rest in us and we in them. Our heart contains all others. One heart, one life, on the advent of a mayfly's final flight.

After finishing the book(huh, finally), I felt like being brainwashed over and over again so all you need to know what this book's about is that WE ARE HUMANITY AND WE ARE ONE . Why does it sound like a song?

In the first 288 pages, it's just a story about small kids holding sidearms and guns like a teddy bear; they don't remember ABCs but know how to make bombs; they're a bunch of children who know how to shoot people with green lights around their heads without blinking, annihilate humanity, and change human nature.

Everything is utterly twisted here. At first I thought maybe it was inevitable when living in an alien-infested world like that, but later I was like, oh, okay, so people can just kill whoever is in their way and still get a nice sleep at night and no need to feel guilty at all because that's how it works and we just have to adapt. Don't blame me but this is what the book made me.

Thus, in my most genuine opinion, I think what's really worthy of reading is the final 50 pages and that's all. You don't necessarily need to know what happened before these pages (and to save your innocent hearts) because like I said, I barely knew what was going on 80% of the book. And still, I managed to understand something (well, that's a bit overestimated) from page 289 to page 338. You'll find the truth about humanity and how mayfly's sacrifice effects the rest of the survivors. Basically, the entire trilogy is all connected, from The 5th Wave to The Infinite Sea and lastly, The Last Star. However, I can assure you that I don't like where the story leads and how it ends.

The ending is..., well, I have no words because it reminds me of that of Allegiant in the Divergent series, which I absolutely didn't enjoy. But at the same time, there's no loose end eventually and it's not that bad, either. *I have no idea what I'm talking about because I kind of lost the ability to form a complete thinking after the virtual apocalypse.*

Anyway, reading this book is like watching the movie, Inception and reading another book called The Host in the meanwhile. That's what it is. When you combine their stories together and you'll get The Last Star. Embrace yourself for further confusion and uncertainty.

Last but not least, if you decide not to read this one, here's the briefing:
1) VQP=Vincit qui patitur (latin)= He conquers who endures.
2) We are humanity and we are one. Our name is Cassiopeia.
3) Mayfly finally takes flight.

[Reading Corner · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a massive let down and a terrible end to a great series.I hated reading most of this book,the whole plot was just so messy and everything was all over the place.The format was annoying,things didn't add up or didn't make sense,the plot was weak and characters seemed so off.

I loved the other two books in The Fifth Wave Series,I was so excited to read The Last Star but the book was terrible compared to the others.It strayed away from everything that made the other books good,there was no atmosphere building,it constantly switched between characters instead of giving one long narrative and it was pretty confusing at times.

Parts were gripping but I still found it difficult to really immerse myself into the book because I was usually bored.I began to hate most of the characters like Ben and especially Ringer because they annoyed the shit out of me and Ringer seemed so out of character compared to the previous books.

What really ruined The Last Star for me was the atrocious ending,everything was wrapped up so messily with one of the most unfulfilling ends ever.I was just left feeling annoyed and wishing I didn't ruin the series by reading this book.I rated the other books 4.5 stars but I'm only giving this one a 2 because it was a terrible finish to the series.

[Sarah]

GOD BLESS THERE'S A THIRD BOOK

[Dannii Elle · Rating 4 out of 5]

First Read: July 2016, Rating: 4 Stars
Second Read: November 2018, Rating: 4 Stars

Well, all I can say is, THIS IS HOW YOU FINISH A SERIES!

This is the last, and my absolute favourite, installment in the 5th Wave dystopian series and I am so incredibly sad my journey with Cassie and co. has come to an end! Yancey has created such a stellar cast of characters that overwhelmed me, moved me and had me screaming with both laughter and pain. I became so emotionally invested in their main objective as well as their individual plights and I think this is in part due to the brilliant construction of their characters as well as the sublime and lyrical quality to the writing. These combined to transcend the confines of the YA genre and create a stunning masterpiece!

The whole series is concerned with the question of what humanity exactly is, and I think each individual character and Yancey's creation of them perfectly summed this up: they are humanity. They are real human beings that have evocatively been brought to life and I feel like I have lost a family now this series is sadly at an end!

[Juliana Zapata · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mucha acción, mucha sangre, mucho miedo, mucha incertidumbre y al final una preciosa lección sobre la humanidad

Reseña: https://bastvilard.blogspot.com/2018/...
Video-Reseña: https://youtu.be/ARkW_xSGwHY

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh my God. How do I even review this. I am a puddle of emotions. Why ya gotta do this, Rick Yancey?

[Taylor of Alethkar ❦ · Rating 1 out of 5]

Alright so... I'm basically forcing myself to write this review because I really just want to put these books behind me. Overall, the only thought I am 100% certain of is "what the everloving fuck was that?" That's it. That's all I really have. So obviously writing a coherent review is a challenge. Try to bear with me.
Sigh.
I loved the Fifth Wave. The first novel was great, not quite a 5 star but very close. It was kick ass with really compelling tone and setting and all these intense little feelings that had shivers down your spine and suspicion rising in your gut. The second book was less so.... it had something I at the time deemed second book syndrome and therefore I excused a lot of the "um... what?" moments and tried to just invest myself in the characters as I had the first go 'round. It worked somewhat, as I came out of it with a mostly positive experience. It was all very up in the air, mostly because, well, I still had hope. That's the best way I can put it. When the second book lets you down a bit you have hope that the conclusion will set everything right, that it will bring back those feelings of oh god what's going to happen next I have to keep reading I need answers I need more.
The Last Star did NOT do that. Like. At all. I barely got through it. I didn't want to read until dawn broke across the sky and I was finished. I didn't want to read until I knew I needed sleep and had a difficult decision to make. No. What I wanted to do was DNF it. I would force myself to read until I reached my daily quota for irritation/confusion and then put it down. Or throw it at the damn wall. No, the second thing. I really wanted to throw this book at the wall. At least once every 50 pages or so.
Speaking of pages: does anyone else feel like this series could have been two books? Did we need three books to tell this story? really? I don't feel like it. Everything that happened in books two and three could have been condensed into an around 550 page novel and that could have been the end of it. Because this dragged.
Alright. Alright. I should probably start getting into detail about the actual book itself now. So SPOILERS from this point on.
Ehem. If I may just say:
RINGER MAKES NO GODDAMN SENSE!!
None. And I know, I know that lots and lots of fans absolutely love this girl. I know that. But I'm sorry man, her logic is fucked up eight ways from Sunday 25/9. I don't understand her. I don't understand any of the decisions she made or why or her preachy gospel shit about how she just knows every fucking thing and everyone else is the problem. No Ringer. You, you are the problem. No one gets anything you're talking about because nothing you do makes sense.
let's go through Ringer's greatest hits shall we?
- Novel starts and she's working for Vosh. Listens to Vosh like his explanations are actually explanations. Ringer, this is the asshole that killed noImnotgonnasaythenumber people. Everyone. How can anything he say possibly excuse that??? But somehow she lets him convince her to kill Evan. And yeah, yeah I know what you're gonna say: but Taylor, Vosh wanted him captured and that's why Ringer wanted him dead so Vosh couldn't have him.
This changes nothing.
For how smart she claims to be, she never stops to think about one side vs. the other. She never stops to think about humans at all. She doesn't consider that just maybe Evan's 'error' or whatever is bad for Vosh because it is good for humans!

Walker is the linchpin, the fulcrum upon which our survival rests. Alive, he is an unacceptable risk.

Uhhhhhhhhh..... WHY?!
Seems to me that she might consider that since Vosh=bad and Vosh sees an error in Evan that Evan would therefore = good. So yeah Ringer, let's kill him because what's the point when:

Long after the last human being crumbles to a handful of dust, it will be there, implacable, impenetrable, unknowable. God has been dethroned.

Just how am I supposed to interpret that?? She's operating like everyone is already dead. No fight. No heart. No desperate last hope that maybe there is some way they can all live. She's given up so she goes to kill Evan so everyone else left can see the error of their hopeful ways and give up too. That's what it felt like to me. And it was soooooo annoying. Every time Ringer's pov came up I wanted to stop reading especially bad. But anyway, I was talking about her greatest hits. Ah yes,
- bringing a Silencer directly to the people she supposedly cared about.
- Pregnancy. Was I the only one who forgot that she even slept with Razor? I still can't even remember when it happened. Maybe you had to squint really hard. Like when Cassie and Evan had sex (I will just revert to my natural reaction: sigh.) You had to squint really hard for that one too. And then you regretted squinting. So all in all when Ringer said those two words my initial reaction (after sighing) was "wait what?" I still don't know why or how her being pregnant contributed to anything at all. I mean... she named the baby after Cassie and we all sniffed for a sec. But beyond that: ???
- Suddenly wants to kill Vosh. Um... you were literally just with him. And the whole 'creator' thing just got weirder from there too.
I have to stop talking about Ringer. This whole review has been about Ringer and honestly it's giving me a headache.
Moving on.
Cassie. What on God's green earth even happened to Cassie? And I mean this in two ways. I mean prior-Cassie and noImnotgonnasaythenumber-Cassie. Let's start with prior-Cassie. In the good old days (aka book 1) this girl was kick ass and determined and relatable and all that other good stuff you find in a heroine. Where did that go? Because it wasn't here. Now, I liked Cassie and Evan's relationship. I'm gonna be honest. But this? This was not that. This was... a whole other something that I have a hard time understanding (HA! Kind of like everything else!) All Cassie seemed to do with her POVs was think about boys. Evan and Ben. aw shucks Evan and what-might-have-Ben. Girl. What are you doing? This is the fucking apocalypse! I... andthatsexscenewastrash but anyways.
Now for noImnotgonnasaythenumber-Cassie.
um......



No really. What the fuck? You expect me to believe that the memories of aaaallllllll those people can be put inside one human brain and that human will still be sane enough to do the kind of shit she did afterwards? What? That's not even... Just.
And let's not forget Cassie dying. I was supposed to be distraught yes? So sad. Sad enough to cry probably. Nope. I just ... couldn't. Because it was soooooooooooooooo predictable. I'm sad she died, I'm sad about all of them. But really? How typical. It made me more angry than sad.
And now Evan. Ah yes, Evan. Everyone-wants-me-dead-because-I-learned-to-love-like-humans-are-supposed-to Evan. I went into this with Evan as my favorite character. Needless to say I was disappointed here as well. All Evan was in this entire book was target practice. What did he actually do? I can't think of anything. Oh wait. He went out and gave himself up to that squad to save Cassie. And then he got turned into a drone and tried to kill her. Anything else? Nope. Target practice.
I won't talk about Sam because all he did was annoy the fuck out of me. Please sit the fuck down corporal you're six. Smh. This is not how six year old's think. I can't even put into words how unrealistic. I just can't.
Ben was the only acceptable person in this book. The shit he did I understood. He had common sense, dedication, love, basic human decency, hope. I never cared for Ben much in books one and two. But in this one he provided much needed relief from everyone else.
My thoughts on the plot?
Hmmm...
Drinking game. Every time you see the words 'seven billion' take a shot. Hangover will be 100
That's all I got man. That's all I got.
So this review turned out to be a lot more negative than originally planned. My rating stays at 3 stars. I'm sorry I just can't give it more. I want to give it less, but I am a generous person. (After further thought turns out I'm not quite generous enough. 1.5 stars it is... I still almost feel like that's being nice.)

[Beth Hudspeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by: Hello Beautiful Book Blog

Yancey is back at it again with precise characterization, fierce energy, and an eerie awareness that time is running out.

The Last Star… The. Last. Star.

“Love is forever. If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be love. The world is beautiful. If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be the world.”

How do I put into words how much I was anticipating this book? I think it’s impossible. I was so engrossed with The 5th Wave. I love YA and I am such a sucker for YA trilogies, don’t ask me why because I don’t know, but they are my favorite. It felt like I had to wait for ages to get this book AND I actually purchased it because my library had a wait list of 22 PEOPLE! I couldn’t wait for months to read what happens! Whatever, it was worth it.

I have been trying to process what happened for a while now. It’s something BIG. I really didn’t see this coming until right before, and that’s all I will say about it. Moving on…

The story kind of starts out a bit slow and weird. It took me a minute to get back into Yancey’s writing and the world. I did not reread the other 2 books like I would normally do before the finale in a series. I really just didn’t have the time, but after a few chapters I melted right back into the story. After I got my footing, the story really picked up for me. There are so many different elements going on, but mostly it is just scrictly survival. I feel like the story has progressed SO much since The 5th Wave. I don’t really feel like the characters are even the same people after all they have been through.

“We bear the unbearable. We endure the unendurable. We do what must be done until we ourselves are undone.”

Yancey has to cover so much and so many POVs in one book that I think some of the smaller details in the characters I loved so much was lost in translation. There is a sort of shift in character focus from The 5th Wave to The Infinite Sea and then to The Last Star. I feel so connected to all of them and that rarely happens.

A lot of the time with trilogies I get so engrossed in the first novel because it is all new. I’m learning new worlds, new customs, learning about new characters, and everything in between. Then, by the last book I feel a sort of complacency or almost predictability. That was pretty much the case with this series as well, except there were still some things that shocked me. I had a couple of wide eyed moments and some moments I’m still in disbelief from.

I don’t have a whole lot to say about the plot because most of what I would say is just emotions and it’s hard to portray those correctly in words. One thing that is absolutely certain, Rick Yancey has a way with words. I am always captivated by the way he can word things. He can take the barest of sentences and make them sounds amazing.

This book is some of what I expected with a lot of the unexpected thrown in. The superb storytelling and the wonderful characters made this series worthwhile for me.

I am humanity.

Love conquers all.

I felt a little numb at first, but now my heart is breaking.

“But I am even more than this. I am all those they remember, the ones they loved, everyone they knew, and everyone they only heard about. How many are contained in me? Count the stars. Go on, number the grains of sand. That’s me.
I am humanity.”

♥





*************Spoiler thoughts/questions below***********

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I’m still a little confused about who caused/did all of this or I guess more why they did this. Who was the sole person who orchestrated this? Like who created the 12th system? Who are these advanced humans who were able to create it?

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Still trying to process this... be back later.

Review to come.

[Sarah Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was 352 pages of pure adrenaline.

This book exceeded my expectations. From beginning to end, it's non-stop, my heart might literally beat out of my chest, action. I'm telling you, you'll fear the lives of every single character. And I don't mean you'll fear their lives, knowing they're meaningless threats. No, it was a genuine fear that constantly kept me on edge.

It's been a long time since I've felt completely satisfied with a finale. There's always something that irritates me. I'm tired of seeing stories that wrap up conveniently in a pristine, tidy bow. Regardless of an alien apocalypse, everything is not always perfect. That's life. And that's what I loved about The Last Star. It was honest. It was bold. It was perfect.

[Trina (Between Chapters) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed seeing the outcome of this series. This book definitely built upon things that had happened in The Infinite Sea, so in hindsight I can see the purpose that the second book had, although I felt it was a little weak on its own. I had faith it would pay off and I felt it did!

There were a few things I was left confused about, but overall I enjoyed the way that Yancey played with different narratives. He approached the story from several different angles and some events and stylistic choices in the end lent a really unique reading experience.

The change in format was a big improvement. In the first 2 books, each section was narrated by only one character, meaning that we sometimes had to rehash the same events to backtrack to where the new narrative hadn't covered yet. In The Last Star, the sections of the book are now by day instead of character, with many narrative changes happening throughout each section. This created a smooth flow and was a great improvement in my opinion!

I did notice 2 cases near the beginning of the book where the narrative changed from past tense to present tense for no reason. I'm sure these were typos. Yancey does use past tense for some characters, present for others, and sometimes a character will narrate using both at different times. Some characters also narrate in first person, while others have a third person narrative. I'm not sure why he chose such variety, but I assume it was to create distinct character voices. I can see how this might be confusing, but I ended up thinking it was an interesting stylistic choice.

So, there's a big thing that happens at the end and I'm going to hide it as a spoiler, but want to talk about it! Cassie's death was one of the better treatments of a main character death in YA that I've read. I admit that I didn't find it heart wrenching, but I felt it was handled very well. She made a true sacrifice and showed a real understanding of what she would be facing that was not undermined by surprise villains, immunities, or magic solutions popping up to negate her sacrifice. The plan she carried out had been worked toward and brought about a solution that was truly deserved.

[Anja H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4 CONFUSED STARS FOR NOW!*

"We bear the unbearable. We endure the unendurable. We do what must be done until we ourselves are undone."

I've finished a lot of trilogies the past months, but this one was entirely different from anything I've ever read before!
This was not my favorite book in this series, that will always be the first book, but it was pretty damn brilliant nonetheless.
I only have one question though: HOW COULD RICK YANCEY DO THIS TO ME?! THAT ENDING!! *crying uncontrollably* This was like The Midnight Star and Allegiant all over again!

Review coming soon!

[Marta Álvarez · Rating 4 out of 5]

Como en libros anteriores, la trama quizás no sea la más original o la más coherente. Simplemente se deja llevar. Pero, también igual que en libros anteriores, la combinación de acción e introspección hace que disfrutes de ese "dejarte llevar". La prosa de Rick Yancey me tiene enamorada. Sabe diferenciar las voces de los distintos narradores sin perder en ningún momento la sensación de soledad casi nostálgica que tanto mejora este libro.

[Kate · Rating 2 out of 5]

BLOG REVIEW:
to come.

Oh my. I have no idea what happened to this series. Book one was so fantastic, book two was just completely boring and pointless because nothing happened, and this one.. idk.

I'm confused as to whether it's my fault that I fell out of love with this series, considering I read the first book 3-4 years ago. But looking at some other peoples reviews and opinions, maybe it really did just go downhill.

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I ended up completely losing interest in the storyline, or lack of, as well as the characters.
This really disappoints me as I really did loveee the first book!

I honestly don't think I could've got through the rest of this book if I didn't use a free audible trial and listen to the audiobook!

I feel as if I only read it to satisfy my internal *must finish all the things I've started* voice that drives me nuts, hahaha.

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Anyway, it's not all hard feelings with this book, I did enjoy certain parts of it, however I still didn't really pay attention fully, it just didn't hold my interest.

I think I may reread all 3 books back-to-back in the future to determine if I still think the same about it when I read the sequels with a refresher of the first book.

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Sorry this is such a downer of a review, but hey, I'd rather be honest than lie and say I loved it when I didn't.

[Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Over all, I don't really know how to feel about this book, or the entire series as a whole. I definitely liked the ending of this one, and the writing was still beautiful, but for the most part I just didn't really care anymore, about most of the characters (they mostly would just annoy me, and is it just me or did Cassie somehow feel oddly... different from the other books? Her evolution in the middle section was just strange.) and the story in general because, looking back now after having experienced the ending, it just feels like after the first book, the whole narrative took kind of a weird, pointless turn and only came full circle on those last 40 pages, which were undoubtedly pretty incredible. But still, I feel really unsatisfied because even though I wasn't expecting any straight-forward answers, some more clues as to what actually happened would have been nice. I don't know, I probably won't give it too much thought now. Still glad I managed to finish another series, though!